Designing a hotel, bed and breakfast, or inn requires you to plan around more than just the individual rooms. Even if you're planning on installing individual heating units in each room so guests can adjust the temperature to their personal comfort level, you need general heating for the lobby, maintenance areas, and other general sections of the facility. Try one of these uncommon commercial heating methods to save money and develop a unique selling point for your accommodations.

Radiant Floor Heat

For areas like fitness centers, indoor pools, and saunas, radiant-heat flooring is an obvious choice because it eliminates the shock of a cold floor, while allowing you to use luxurious stone, polished concrete, or tile floors. However, radiant flooring also works as general heating in other parts of a hotel, like the lobby. With the right-sized system, the entire room will stay at a comfortable temperature because the heat will slowly rise from the floor for an even temperature throughout the space. This may not work as well in areas with very high ceilings, but it can be adapted to work with secondary heating equipment like heat pumps or wall radiators.

Biomass Boilers

Are you running an inn or bed and breakfast in a rural location, and are you looking to take advantage of alternative fuels? Try a biomass boiler running on wood pellets and chips to use locally produced materials in the operation of your business and watch the eco-conscious traffic increase. The right system can reduce what you're spending on gas-fired boiler costs by up to 40%, and since you're running a complete boiler furnace system, you can use the heat for as many purposes as you like. Sizing a biomass system for pool heating, room heating, and even hot water heating is all possible to save space and maximize the use of any equipment you purchase.

Heat Pumps

Lobbies, conference halls, and other large areas are often tricky to keep warm during the winter because of drafts, high ceilings, and open layouts with few enclosed areas. Heat pumps are often the best option in challenging areas because you can install as many individual heating units as necessary to distribute heat evenly. Registers are easily mounted in the walls, ceilings, and floors to send heat exactly where it's needed and away from areas where it might be wasted due to drafts and open doors. Since there's no need for major duct work upgrades, installation is easy, even if you're already open for business and can't afford to shut down for lengthy renovations.

Infrared Heaters

If you're trying to keep guests warm as they relax on outdoor patios, in your on-site restaurant, or in the privacy of their own rooms, infrared heaters work well to send warmth directly to the person. Since the heat is traveling along the infrared wavelength of light, it is absorbed directly by solid objects like people and furniture, rather than warming the air in a room. This is an efficient way to heat, but it only works on people who are staying still in the path of the heat.

Geothermal Systems

For a major heating system that has the capacity to produce heat for every need in your entire inn or hotel, consider a geothermal heating system. It's best installed during initial construction because it involves a lot of deep digging, either over a long distance to lay out horizontal pipes or very deep to run a vertical loop instead. These underground pipes circulate air to either warm or cool it as needed, resulting in a heat source that costs a lot less to run in the winter due to the elimination of fuel for heat generation. Don't forget to factor in the higher upfront installation cost before assuming it's the best choice, though.

For more information on your heating options, contact a company like Shakley Mechanical Inc.